In the teaching of golf and in the practice thereof, one of the most important fundamentals is the alignment of the body to the target to which the golf ball is intended to be hit. Proper foot placement with respect to a line between the golf ball and the target is the key to body alignment. Such foot placement is commonly referred to as a "golf stance".
A number of golf stance indicators and alignment aids have been invented. However, there is a noticeable absence of such devices from the market. This absence is believed due the complexity and cost of earlier inventions and their general lack of convenience.
Prior art golf stance indicators and alignment aids generally lack the ability to be compactly stored as assembled devices in modern golf bags. They typically require disassembly for storage in a golf bag pocket. When used, prior art golf stance indicators must first be reassembly and adjusted, thereby being inconvenient to use.
Many golf stance indicators and alignment aids have construction features which make them prohibitively expensive for mass marketing. They are typically made of metal and have special thumbscrew brackets which enable adjustment. They often have indicia stamped along their lengths to facilitate repeat setups. Some even have electronic feedback systems to indicate body weight shift during the golf swing. While the designs of the more complex indicators and alignment aids suggest that they offer greater accuracy and training benefits their lack of convenience and their overall cost/benefit negatives have resulted in only limited purchase and use by the average golfer.
Some golf stance indicators and alignment aids have golf ball tees built into them. When the golfer miss-hits a ball, the golf club may strike the alignment device. Such devices must be constructed to absorb such abuse without damage. A more convenient and less expensive design locates the golf ball a short distance away from the alignment device so that the ball can either be hit off the grass or off a separate tee, without damaging the alignment device.
The aiming member of almost all prior art golf stance indicators and alignment aids is simply a bar lying on the ground. The golfer is expected to stand above this bar and point it in the direction of the target. This aiming method is no better than merely laying a golf club on the ground pointed in the direction of the target. What is lacking is a sighting feature, such as two vertical members which can be aligned parallel to and coincidental with the target, typically a flagstick on the golf green.